Twin Polar Bear Cubs Thriving at Zoo in Germany

The cubs have recently been examined and weighed by vets at Hellabrunn Zoo

Last year, on December 9, 7-year-old Giovanna, a female polar bear living in captivity at Hellabrunn Zoo in Germany, delivered a pair of twins.

Looking not to upset the polar bear family, staff at the facility decided not to disturb them in any way for several weeks in a row, and settled for keeping a close eye on them from a distance.

However, last week, the cubs were finally separated from Giovanna for the first time ever. Thus, they were taken from their enclosure and subjected to a quick medical examination.

The three vets who had the chance to examine the cubs say that one is a boy and the other, a girl. They are both in excellent health and well fed, they further detail.

What's interesting is that, contrary to what some might expect, the baby girl is currently a tad stronger than its brother, Zoo Borns reports.

“As I suspected, the twins are a girl and a boy. And quite surprisingly, the girl is considerably stronger, weighing 5.4 kg (12 lb). The darker of the two is the boy, who weighs 4.6 kg (10 lb),” Director Dr. Andreas Knieriem said in a statement.

Apart from being weighed and closely examined, the polar bear cubs were each fitted with an identification chip. This means that they can now be officially registered in the zoo's animal database.

Should things go as planned, the cubs will probably make their public debut sometime in late March.